Why Keeping A List Of Your Mistakes Will Actually Make Your Life Better
In order to learn from your mistakes, you have to actually remember them in the first place.
By 
Sam Newman
For a long time, I kept beating myself up for making the same stupid mistakes over and over again. Each time I would make a vow to learn from my faults, but when it came down to it I would mess up all over again. As my frustration grew, I promised myself that I would record the mistakes I made and write down how I felt afterwards. While no one is impervious to mistakes, writing them down will seriously improve your ability to learn from them.
A Mistake Can Range From The Smallest Mix Up To The Most Catastrophic Failure
Writing your mistakes down can help you recognize patterns between your past faults. As a whole, we tend to recognize times when we seriously mess up. However, smaller occurrences tend to go unnoticed. It’s important you learn from the small mistakes you make so they don’t get out of hand in the future.
Mistakes Can Define You. Don’t Let Them.
The risk of failure comes with every potential accomplishment. If you are unable to move on from failure, your mistakes will define you. Don’t let them define you. By writing them down you can manage them and own up to them. It is much easier to move on when you have admitted to a fault than when you have moved on without any reflection.
Keeping Track Of How You Feel In The Moment Is Essential To Self-Growth
The emotions we experience after a mistake defines the realization that we made a mistake in the first place. However, over time we still may incorrectly recall how we felt. Write down how you feel once you realize you have made a mistake and reflect on the reasons why you never want to feel that way again.
Write Advice To Yourself Detailing What You Wish You Did Differently
Advice to yourself is incredibly valuable and cathartic. At the end of the day, you are the only one experiencing your specific emotions. So write helpful tips from you, to you.
Writing Down Your Mistakes Allows You To Organize Your Thoughts
During the day you mind is constantly racing around with thoughts. Thoughts about the past. Thoughts about the future. Thoughts about anxieties. Thoughts about plans. Thoughts about everything, really. However, you have limited mental storage and organizational space for it all. By taking the time to write down your mistakes, you in turn are able to organize and compartmentalize the important issues in your life.
Write Them Down And Then Let Them Be In The Past (But Never The Future)
Once you write down your mistakes, let them live in your notes. Don’t let them fester in your head. Revisit your list often, but don’t obsess over the past. What’s done is done. All you can do is move on and learn from your faults.
Re-Read Your Mistakes And Reflect
Keep your list close to you. Maybe it is on your phone or in a journal. Wherever it may live, revisit your words when you can. Allow yourself a little time every week or so to process what you have written.
Make A Promise To Yourself That Things Will Be Different
This is probably the most important. Make a vow to yourself that you won’t fall victim to your past mistakes again. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but allow yourself to adapt and grow from your faults. Keep adding to your list and let yourself learn from the past. 
